Thursday, November 22, 2012

Today is Thanksgiving and I thought it would be good to reflect on some things we should be thankful for working in radio.

Now before you roll your eyes, I know times are tough, not just in our industry, but nearly every industry (glad I don't work for Hostess right now). Radio is still a great gig and sometimes we need to be reminded of a few things to be thankful for.

• We work in radio. We play music and connect with people for a living. Pretty cool.

• We get to go to concerts for free and many times meet the artists backstage.

• We don't have to get up at 5am in the cold pouring rain to collect people’s trash or roof a house when it's 95 degrees in the blazing sun.

• We get to talk to thousands of people each day that think of us as a friend. We have thousands of friends!

• We get to create magic (or at least you should be creating magic).

• We get to listen to music and get paid for it.

• Many of the biggest stars in country music know us by name.

• Our office environment is unlike any other place on the planet. Try working for a lawyer or CPA. Their offices are boring and stale. I've never worked in a radio station where someone didn't have a guitar in their office and played it often.

• Most of us are doing what we've wanted to do since we were kids. I bet most of your non radio friends can't say that.

• Nearly 95% of all Americans listen to radio each week. That's an impressive number. Very few media outlets connect with that many people each week.

• Each day we get to make people laugh, cry and think.

• Every day is different. Perfect for radio people that have ADD...which is most of us.

• We get free tickets to nearly everything.

• Competition makes us all better and radio has a lot of it.

Stay positive and take this weekend to think about all the great things that come with working in radio. There are many.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Here in Denver, AC-KOSI 101 went all Christmas this week. In the next two weeks All Christmas Stations are going to pop up in markets all over the country at a rapid pace.I thought it was a good time to re-post a blog I did last year.

Let’s face it, if you’re a country station, you’re probably going to get killed in the ratings in December. The AC station playing all Christmas music will probably clean your clock. Don’t worry, the women you lose will be back on the 26th. December has become a really hard month to win in the ratings if you’re not wall to wall Christmas music. Even then, it’s can be tough. It’s not about playing all Christmas music. It’s about playing the right Christmas songs and having that “feeling” at Christmas time. Let me explain.

Just playing Christmas music isn’t good enough. It’s all about playing the songs that remind the listener of being a kid. That’s a secret. I’m sorry, the brand new Christmas song from a brand new group isn’t nearly as effective as Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis and even Mariah Carey’s 1994 modern day classic “All I Want For Christmas is You.” Those are the type of songs you should be playing more of, regardless of your format. Those are the songs that make people think of that best Christmas’s ever…when they were a kid.

Same goes for your imaging. Find drops from classic Christmas TV shows and movies. Go to a school and ask five or six year olds what they think of Christmas. Use that in your imaging. Again, it’s all about getting that “feeling” and putting it on the air.

Promotionally, have something big in January to welcome back the listener that went away. Traditionally, January hasn’t been a big month for radio promotions, but I think that should change. Start your contest right after New Year’s Day, but start promoting the day after Christmas.

If you want to keep your listener listening for a few more minutes before turning you off and going to the all Christmas station, then jog their memory. Make them think of Christmas when they were seven years old.

Friday, November 2, 2012

I'm on the road traveling this week for work, so I asked "Marconi, The Night Ninja" to write me a BLOG. You can hear Marconi all over the country live at night on "Rock 2.0", a Dial Global Radio Network 24/7 format.

There's no need to say what time a jock is off the air. The start time is all you need. (Example: "Kevin and Bean Weekday Mornings Starting at 5.")

No television promo ever says Breaking Bad tonight at 9 to 9:30. They might say followed by an ALL NEW Walking Dead, but they never tell you when something is over. The obsession with telling people when something is over on radio seems silly. How does that encourage people to listen more? It doesn't. It always sounds to me like lazy writing or a lazy D.J. who can't wait to get off the air.

Saying "PM" or "AM" seems to be something extra that isn't needed in most cases either. I know your morning show is on in the AM and your promotion for Thursday Night starts in the PM.

Same goes for promoting jocks. No need to say the afternoon guy is on at 2 "PM" or that he ends at 7 "PM" (see above).

As for websites, I believe it's okay to retire words like "LOG ON" and " WWW DOT" from our internet vernacular . Those terms sound dated. Just as "TUNE IN" and "MARK YOUR CALENDAR" are dated on the air.

WHO I AM

I'm a fan of compelling, personality driven radio. I got bit by the radio bug when I was 13 and have been involved ever since. Today, I'm the Vice President of Programming at Westwood One. I oversee the Denver based 24/7 formats heard on nearly 1700 affiliate stations across the country and around the world. I'm also the National Program Director for the syndicated shows "The Lia Show" and "Country Gold with Randy Owen."
I currently sit on the CMA (Country Music Association) Board of Directors, the Radiothon Advisory Board for St. Jude Children's Hospital as well as the Advisory Board for the Ohio School of Broadcasting.
I served as the Agenda Chairman for the Country Radio Seminar in 2010 and 2011.